


Friendly Sparring

by Roque



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-15
Updated: 2014-04-10
Packaged: 2018-01-15 20:47:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1318663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roque/pseuds/Roque
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack wants her to be better, even though she's already level 3 advanced.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Emancipation

**Author's Note:**

> (Originally posted on ff.net 31/1/14 under the pen name roque872002)  
> I took up Tae Kwon Do in October. I'm still shockingly bad at putting enough power into my pattern. This fic was thought of during training on Wednesday as I was getting shouted at to try harder.
> 
> I've always wondered how those early days of training together would go. I guess this is one way it could have gone.

"WHAT WAS THAT?! Put some effort in Carter!"

"I am!"

"Coulda fooled me! That was pathetic. Again!"

Sam took a deep breath to center herself and blew it angrily out of her nose. She was tired and sweaty. All she wanted was a shower.

She balled her fists and held them up in front of her defensively.

In a matter of seconds she was flat on her back with her CO on top of her.

"I never said I was ready!"

"You don't get to make that choice in real life Carter. You need to be ready all the time."

"I thought you said this was gonna be friendly sparring," she breathed as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"This is friendly. Now get angry. And fight me. Like you mean it."

"We've been at this for hours!" Sam almost whined. It had been a long day - after an even longer mission.

"What's your point? Do you want to learn or not?" He asked as he slid forwards and punched. He was glad when she blocked his fist and kicked his side in retaliation.

"Of course I do. I just think I'd learn better tomorrow. After some rest," she told him while she blocked another punch, grabbed his wrist and kicked again - aiming for his chest.

"We can do this tomorrow too. We have all day," he replied as he blocked her kick and swiped her foot out from under her.

She landed with a thud on the mats. He could tell that the fall had winded her somewhat.

"Get angry Carter! I can and will make you hate me if I have to. You're a young woman getting beat up by an old man. That should be incentive enough."

"I'm a Captain getting beat up by a black ops Colonel. Who has three pay grades more experience. There's a difference," she huffed as he helped her to her feet again.

"Imagine you're fighting someone you hate. I know you can do it. You're level three advanced. Start showing me that."

"I'm trying!"

"There has to be someone you hate. Who do you hate Carter?"

"I don't really hate anyone," she said as she landed a side kick in his stomach.

"Really? No one?" He asked as he blocked a punch and grabbed her outstretched wrist and wrapped her arm awkwardly behind her back.

"No one," she replied as she winced in discomfort.

"Then I guess I'll have to make you hate me," he whispered before placing a foot on the back of her knee and gently pushed.

He kept a hold of her wrist as she went down, kneeling beside her himself, his chest pressed against her back.

"This is team building in your eyes Jack?" Ferretti laughed as he entered the gym. "Beating the only woman on your team to a pulp?"

"It's called sparring Ferretti," he shot back before turning his head back to his Captain. "We'll call it a day. We can continue this tomorrow."

"Yes Sir," she nodded in response as he let go of her wrist. She shook her arm out and rubbed her wrist tentatively.

A hand appeared by her face and she looked at it quizzically. Her eyes traveled the length of the hand and up to its owners eyes. Her CO stood before her, sweaty and slightly breathless, offering her his hand to help her to her feet once again.

She thought about ignoring it and getting up by herself. Just to prove a point. But as she heaved a sigh she placed her hand in his and let him pull her up.

"Ladies get to shower first," he said once her hand fell away from his.

"Thank you Sir," she smiled brightly before walking around him and out of the room.

Jack put his hands on his knees and took several deep breathes.

"Out of puff?" Ferretti grinned.

"Damn she's good," Jack laughed breathlessly.

"Yeah?" Ferretti raised both of his eyebrows and wrapped a towel around his neck.

"Just don't tell her I said that. She's level three advanced for a reason. But I need her to be better. I need her to be able to take me down if it ever comes to it."

"She got far to go to be able to do that?"

"No. Colour me very impressed. She has a lot of training ahead of her but I'm pretty sure she's gonna sail through it. She's very focused."

"Never thought I would see the day where Jack O'Neill could be taken down by a scientist in a fight."

"Either did I."

"Colonel?" Sam said as she opened the door to the gym. "Shower's free."

"Thanks Carter," he nodded as he walked towards her. "I'll see you here tomorrow?" He stated more than asked.

"Yes Sir," she smiled.

He groaned inwardly. That damn smile. He knew she was gonna be trouble as soon as she walked in the room.


	2. The First Commandment

She was angry. Very angry.

He could feel her anger before he had even opened the door to the gym.

He smirked slightly at the people fleeing the gym in a hurry.

His mild tempered Captain had scared everyone from the room.

He opened the door to the gym and saw her jabbing the punching bag in the far corner. He could see that she wasn't wearing gloves and that her hands were red raw.

He walked over to her and held the bag in his hands. Her punches and kicks were making it swing so much she wasn't hitting it every time.

He could see the proverbial steam coming out of her ears.

"You do know you've scared everyone out of here, right?" he asked as he was pushed backwards as she landed a powerful kick to the bag.

"Then why are you here?" She asked as she twisted and kicked with her back leg. Her foot hit the bag with a loud bang.

"I don't scare easy. And you haven't given me a reason to fear you yet."

"Let's hope it stays that way then," she replied as she jabbed the bag with her fists, twisted, elbowed the bag hard, twisted again and kicked.

"And why is that? I need to know what you can do Carter. It's all part of the training."

"You won't like me when I'm angry. Apparently...," she looked around the room. "I'm pretty scary."

"I'm still here," he shrugged and let go of the bag. "C'mon. You need to move around. Have a moving target that can hit back. Let's go."

He walked to the middle of the mats and held up his fists defensively.

"Sir. I don't want to fight you. I just want to," she punched the bag again. "Punch the bag."

"Carter. Get over here and fight me. Pretend I'm the bag," he waited until she reluctantly walked over to him and balled her fists. "What did that bag ever do to you anyway?"

"Nothing," she said as she blocked a punch and jabbed him in the chest. Hard. "I was pretending it was someone else."

"So you do hate someone," he said as he dodged another punch and failed to kick her side.

"No. I just hate the situation."

He knew, of course, which situation she was on about. The Hanson Situation.

How someone as bright and beautiful as she was had ended up with someone like him, he would never know. He knew that he had been black ops and that a lot of men were affected by it. He knew that Hanson had been one of those men. He could see it in his eyes. The God complex.

He had witnessed first hand how Hanson had controlled her without even seeming to try. He had seen the self loathing in her eyes. He knew that she was now venting some of that anger.

"Kick it out," he told her as he blocked all of her kicks. Bar one. Her foot collided with his jaw sending him stumbling backwards.

"Colonel!" She gasped as she drew her foot back to the floor. "I am so sorry! Are you ok?"

"Yeah," he nodded through the pain. He felt tears build up in his eyes. "That's some kick you have there Carter!" he said as he rubbed his jaw.

"I'm sorry Colonel," she said again as she lowered her fists.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine," he waved her off and motioned for her to continue. "This is good. This is what I want to see. Now. Continue on."

"But-"

"Ah! No buts! I can take a kick to the face and come back for more. Continue."

"Sir-"

"Carter! Continue. On."

"I... I just... I don't..."

"Do I need to make you angry again Carter?"

"No Sir," she shook her head and raised her fists. He could tell the anger had almost vanished. Her eyes weren't as clouded over as what they had been when he had first entered the gym. "I just-"

"Do I need to control you Carter?" he asked as he jabbed her repeatedly in quick succession. He knew it would get her angry. He also knew it was a stupid thing to say. He just wanted to see how far he could push her.

He watched as the anger returned to her eyes with vengeance. He swallowed. He was big enough to admit that he was a little scared of that look in her eyes.

She attacked. Fast and effective. He blocked as much as he could through the blur of movements. Her fist connected with his jaw and a foot met his stomach making him double over in pain before his feet were swept out from under him.

Before he could blink he was flat on his back with his Second pinning him in place. She sat on his legs, held one wrist in one of her hands and held her other forearm over his throat. It didn't escape his notice that she wasn't being gentle about it either.

"Carter!" He chocked out. Her arm was steadily getting heavier on his throat. He saw the mad look in her eyes. Gone was the brilliant blue of her eyes. He watched as they progressively got darker with rage. "Carter!" He managed to choke out slightly louder.

In an instant the anger was gone and she was scrambling off of him.

"Colonel I am so sorry," she said as she stood at rest with her hands behind her back, her head down as she stared blindly at her feet. "I understand if you want to bring me up on charges."

"Now, Carter, why would I do that?" He asked. Her head snapped up and she opened her mouth to reply. He held up his hand. "We were sparring Carter. And I pushed you beyond your limit. There's no need for charges of any kind."

"Thank you Sir," she visibly relaxed.

"Just..." he started as he began to walk away from her and motioned for her to follow. "Remind me to never get on the wrong side of you again. Ok?"

"Ok," she smiled as she walked out of the gym.

"You're violent you know."

"So my brother always told me," she laughed.

"Yeah. Well. I know he's right. Beating up an old man!"

"You're not that old Colonel!"

"Hey! I've apparently taught you well these past few weeks. I'm proud of you. Take it."

"Thank you Sir," she smiled at him.

That damn smile again!


	3. The Nox

"Can you get your leg any higher?" Jack asked as he watched his Second kick the bag before her.

"Uh. No. This is as high as it will go," she replied as she lowed her foot to the floor.

"Hmm, right," he looked around. They were alone in the gym. "Back up against the wall."

"Sir?"

"Stretching, Sam. Up against the wall," he motioned for her to move back.

He watched her turn around and walk over to the nearest wall. Once there she turned around and faced him again.

"Do you need anything to hold on to? This'll probably hurt. No point in being gentle."

"I'll be fine," she smiled. "I'm tougher than I look."

He laughed. He knew that was true.

"Give me your leg," he said as he held out his hands.

She lifted her right knee to her waist and straightened it out. He cupped her ankle and lower leg in his hands and began to lift her leg higher. He knelt down slightly and put her leg on his shoulder. Slowly he began to straighten.

"Toes up," he said gently as he straightened up further.

"Sir. I don't think I can get any higher."

"Okay," he nodded and stayed where he was. "Sore?"

"Yeah," she breathed out. "A little."

"When was the last time you stretched like this?" he asked, trying to keep her mind off the pain. He knew how badly those stretches could hurt. But he also knew how worth it they were.

"Too long ago."

"Okay, so we'll stretch like this every time we're sparring. You'll be doing the splits before you know it."

"Whatever you say Sir," she laughed softly.

"Ready to go higher?"

"Do it," she said and winced in pain as he pushed her leg higher.

"Are you sure you don't want anything to hold onto? Maybe bite down on something?"

"I'm good... I'm good."

"Sure?"

She nodded in response then breathed deeply.

"Keep breathing. Nice and slow."

"This isn't fun," she breathed out with a nervous laugh.

"No pain, no gain. Up on your tiptoes," he told her. She nodded, blew out a long breath and raised herself up. He straightened up further and readjusted her leg on his shoulder. "You still okay?"

"Yeah."

"Slowly lower yourself down. You're doin' good."

"I think my leg's gonna snap," she winced as she put her foot back flat on the floor.

"Your leg will be fine. You're not trembling. Do you trust me?"

"I wouldn't be up against a wall stretching if I didn't."

"Then believe me when I say you're gonna be fine. Push down. Like you mean it."

"Yes Sir," she nodded and exhaled loudly.

"Five... Four... Three... Two... One... Good. Think you can go any higher?"

"No," she shook her head. She wanted to laugh. He was standing before her, with her ankle on his shoulder, at almost his full height. She was surprised she had managed to get as high as what she had. Her leg started to tremble slightly and she tried to make it stop.

"Easy," he said as he gently cupped his hands around her ankle again and lowered himself. "I'm gonna bring it down now. Okay?"

Slowly he lowered her leg to her waist height then gently, yet firmly, bent her knee and pushed her leg against her.

"Feel good?" he asked as she shook her leg out.

"Yeah, actually. Forgot how good stretching like that felt."

"Good. Left leg."

"So..." she began as he began to straighten up slowly.

"So..." he echoed.

"Just trying to make conversation," she smiled as she winced.

"What did you do last night? Anything exciting?" he asked as he rearranged her ankle on his shoulder. "Toes up."

"Uh. No. Not really. Nothing quite like dying and coming back to life to make you think about things."

"What kind of things?"

"Thought about calling my dad."

"Thought about?"

"Yeah. I didn't call."

"What about mom?"

"She," she swallowed and exhaled sharply as he raised her leg higher. "She died when I was a teenager."

"Sorry," he said genuinely.

"Thanks."

"So why didn't you call dad?"

"It's stupid. None of us have really gotten on since mom died."

"Brother included?"

"Yeah. He blames dad for her death. He doesn't talk to me because I joined the Air Force."

"Aren't families wonderful?" he asked sarcastically. "Got one of your own?" It was then he realised that despite being on the same team for a few months, he knew nothing about his Second outside of work. Apart from that she had a brother. And that her ex had gone crazy off world.

"No. No one. On my own."

"On your tiptoes. You have us Sam. I was thinking about maybe having team nights. That way we can all get to know each other a little better," he suggested as he straightened himself up further. "It would be especially good for Teal'c."

"Sounds like a good idea Sir," she smiled through the pain.

"I thought so. I'll need to ask Daniel. See if he's interested. Lower yourself down. And I'll need to ask Hammond about Teal'c being let off base for a few hours."

"Well. Count me in."

"Sweet. Push down."

"Are we interrupting?" a voice asked from the doors to the gym.

Jack turned his head to see who it was. Ferretti and Johnson. Ferretti smirked at his friend.

"Ignore him Carter. He's an ass," Jack smirked back before turning his head back round to face the woman before him. "I'm gonna lower your leg now okay?"

"Damn you can get your leg high," Ferretti commented as he walked over to his friend.

"Used to be able to get it higher," Sam said as her CO pushed her bent leg against her.

"We'll work on that, remember?" Jack smiled.

"Yes Sir."

"Now," he said as he watched her shake out her leg. "Beat him up," he nodded towards Ferretti.

"Jack c'mon! Seriously? Are you trying to kill me?" Ferretti exclaimed mockingly.

Jack raised his eyebrows. He knew Ferretti had seen her fight. He knew, Ferretti knew what he was up against. "I need to watch her beat someone up so I can give her pointers. You volunteered yourself by walking into the gym."

"This is all your fault Johnson!" Ferretti said as he pointed to his large friend using the weights. "You better hope I win!"

"My money's on Carter, man!" he laughed.

"Yeah," Ferretti mumbled. "Mine too."

"Make that three," Jack said as he folded his arms over his chest. "No pressure Sam."

A few minutes of heavy sparring later, Ferretti was down on all fours on the mat, blood dripping from his nose. He groaned loudly.

"Suck it up Lou!" Jack laughed as he handed his friend some paper towels for his nose. He turned to his Second to see she was cradling her left hand. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I don't think it's broken," she replied as he took her hand in both of his. She hissed in pain as he began checking for injuries.

"Sorry, sorry. Can you move your fingers?" he watched as she managed to move all of them. He smiled at her. "You'll be sore for a few days, and probably get an impressive bruise, but you'll be fine. That's a great hook you've got."

"I'm fine too," Ferretti grumbled from his spot on the floor. "Thanks for your concern."

"Gotta look after my team first Ferretti," he smirked, Sam's hand still in both of his.

"I want a rematch Carter!" Lou laughed as he sat up on his heels and held the paper towels to his nose. "As soon as these potentially cracked ribs heal!"

"Deal," Sam laughed. "I'm sorry about your nose."

"I've had worse," he waved her off. "But never off a woman before."

"That's my Second!" Jack beamed at her.

Sam smiled back, enjoying the warmth of his hands around hers. She froze. She was so screwed.


	4. Bloodlines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You let me win

"Sir?" Sam asked as she entered the gym only to hear loud bangs of limbs hitting a punching bag.

The gym was empty as it usually was at that time of night. Their usual sparring time.

"Sir?" she asked again as she stood a few feet away from him.

She could clearly see the sweat falling from his skin. His hands and feet were red raw. His eyes were blood shot as though sweat had ran into them and he refused to wipe it away. She could see he was squinting.

"No Carter. I'm not in the mood."

"I can see that," she said sarcastically as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Insubordination Carter? Really?" he asked as he punched the bag again.

"No Sir," she shook her head.

"Good. Keep it that way."

"Wanna talk about it?" Sam offered quietly.

"No," he punched the bag on the seam as it continued to swing around. Sam watched as the skin on his left knuckle split. He swore under his breath and continued to punch.

"Sir! Stop!" Sam cried as she grabbed a clean and dry towel from the bench behind him. She watched in horror as he continued to punch the bag with both hands. Blood slowly traveled down the bag and onto the mats below. "Sir! Just STOP!"

She knew it was a stupid move. She knew she could get hurt in the process, but she grabbed his wrist and tried to pull it as far away from the bag as possible anyway.

It was only when his closed fist connected with her right cheek, sending her to the mats that he stopped. He knelt down beside her and saw the fear in her eyes as she backed away from him.

"Sam. I am so sorry."

He watched as she shook her head and backed further away. He watched as blood seeped out of the corner of her mouth.

"Sam..." he placed a gentle, yet bloody, hand on her bare leg. She had taken to wearing shorts to their sparring sessions early on, because full length pants were too heavy and constricting for the more often than not intense sparring. He felt her tense beneath his touch before relaxing. He saw the fear grow in her eyes before it vanished instantly.

"Sir?"

"Yeah it's me. You went away for a minute there. Where did you go?"

"Nowhere. I'm fine," she said as she wiped her mouth with her hand.

"Sam, you looked terrified. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit or scare you."

"You're forgiven Colonel," she smiled as best she could. "Just remind me to not be on the recieving end of a punch to the face again."

"Got it," he smiled at her.

"Let me see your hand," she said as she scooted forwards and dabbed his hand with the clean towel. "Sorry," she said when he hissed in pain.

"What do you think Doc? Will I need stitches?"

She raised her eyebrows at him and smirked. "You know I'm not that kind of doctor Colonel."

"Worth a shot," he smirked back.

"So what were you so angry about?" she asked him hesitantly as she held the towel to his hand to stop the bleeding. She wiper her mouth with her hand again.

"I don't wanna talk about it," he sighed and looked at her considerably smaller hand cradling his. "Where did you go after I hit you? You seemed to be lost somewhere."

"I don't wanna talk about it," she whispered in response.

"Teal'c almost lost his son," he said eventually. "We didn't even know he had a son. Why would he risk his son's life like that? I know what it's like to lose a child..." he trailed off.

"I'm sorry about your son Colonel. I can't imagine what that must have been like," she said sympathetically.

"Thanks," he heaved a sigh. "Did you know already...?"

"Daniel told me during that mission with the crystals. I hope you don't mind..."

"Ah. It's fine Sam. You'd probably find out sooner or later anyway."

They sat in silence for a few minutes as Sam continued to hold the towel to her CO's hand.

Jack looked around and saw another clean towel close by. He stretched and grabbed it. He scooted closer to his Captain and used his free hand to dab the corner of her mouth.

"Jonas hit me a few times," she whispered and kept her eyes on his hand wrapped in the towel.

"What?!" he seethed as he cupped her face and made her look at him. "Where?"

"Mainly places no one would see."

"Mainly?"

"Yeah. There was a couple of times he hit my face. The last time he gave me a black eye and a cracked jaw. I hit him back."

"The other times? Did you hit back then too?"

She cast her eyes down. Jack knew he had his answer. She hadn't retaliated. By the look in her eyes when he had accidentally sent her to the mats, he wasn't surprised by her non answer.

"That's the main reason I'm level three advanced. I wanted to protect myself better."

"If he wasn't already dead I'd kill that bastard. No matter what he made you think, you never deserved that. Do you understand me Carter?"

"Yes Sir," she nodded softly.

"Open your mouth. Lemme see your teeth."

"My teeth are fine Sir. You'd know if they weren't."

"Humor me. Lemme see," he commanded softly.

Sam sighed and opened her mouth. She let him pull her mouth open wider so he could get a look at her teeth. He dabbed some of the blood away with the towel he held.

She could taste the salty sweat from his skin as he gently pressed each tooth with the corner of the towel. They were all firmly in place.

He found the source of the bleeding, a long cut on the inside of her cheek caused by her teeth, and held a clean section of towel to it.

"Sorry. That was probably disgusting. You don't need my sweaty hand in your mouth," he apologised.

She smiled softly around the towel in her mouth, not wanting to embarrass herself by talking around it.

"Maybe we should get Daniel in here," he said as he looked around the empty but slightly bloody gym. "I wouldn't feel as guilty about accidentally hitting him."

He gently pulled the towel out of her mouth. He winced at the blood stain.

"Christ," he swore under his breath.

"I'll be fine Colonel. I have died before."

"Not funny, Sam."

"Sorry," she cast her eyes down to his hand, where she slowly lifted the blood stained towel from his knuckles. She felt him flinch and raised her eyes to his. "Okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "How many times have you patched me up now?"

"About as many times as you've patched me up."

"So between us... maybe we've reached the number of times Daniel's needed to be patched up?"

"Maybe," she laughed. He wiped away a trickle of blood from her mouth.

"I hear Teal'c has been teaching him the basic's. You know, in exchange for Daniel teaching him about Earth and our customs."

"Yeah, I overheard that too. That's good, it'll be good for him," she nodded.

"I don't suppose we'll be sparring tonight?" he asked with a sigh.

"I don't think so Colonel. We should probably get you to the infirmary. See if you need stitches."

"And get your mouth checked out."

"Yeah," she nodded, making no move to stand.

"I really am sorry, you know."

"I know. It's fine. I've had worse. But never off Ferretti," Sam grinned.

"I know I need to reign in my temper..."

"I dunno Colonel," she mused. "It's healthy to vent."

"Yeah, but next time we spar you're gonna kick my ass again for hitting you."

"I know you let me win, after the Jonas situation."

"I did not!" he protested.

"Yeah, you did. I saw you sparring with Teal'c. I know you let me win."

"Alright, fine. I may have let you win. But it's made you work harder, and you needed to vent, so it was worth it," he smiled. "C'mon," he stood up and pulled her up with him. "Infirmary. Before we both get our asses kicked by Fraiser for not going as soon as this happened."

He gazed at his Captain as she walked out of the gym. He knew he had inappropriate feelings for her. He had known that from as soon as she had walked into the room. He had hoped it was lust over something he couldn't have. But as time had gone on, and he had gotten to know her better, the feeling had remained.

He knew she was sixteen years his junior. He knew that he was her Commanding Officer. He knew he couldn't act on his feeling. He didn't even know what to call his feeling. He had always been a sucker for blonde hair and blue eyes. He hoped that was all it was.


End file.
